The Australian prime minister has said he is “proud” of his country’s cricket team after Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal sparked controversy in the Ashes series against England.
Anthony Albanese, in a tongue-in-cheek swipe at his British counterpart Rishi Sunak, said Australia was “right behind” the men’s and the women’s cricket teams, who have both been successful in the opening games of their UK tour.
Australia’s leader tweeted: “Same old Aussies – always winning!”
It comes after Mr Sunak, who was at Lord’s on Saturday for the second men’s Test, accused the Australian team of breaking the spirit of the game with the dismissal of Bairstow.
The England batter was stumped in bizarre circumstances on a tense final day on Sunday.
Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey threw down the stumps after Bairstow ducked the final ball of the over and set off to talk to partner Ben Stokes in the apparent belief the over had ended.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Mr Sunak, a keen cricket fan, agreed with the views of England captain Stokes about the incident, confirming he “wouldn’t want to win a game in the manner Australia did”.
Asked whether Mr Sunak believed Australia’s actions were not in keeping with the spirit of cricket, his spokesman said: “Yes.”
But Mr Albanese made clear that Australian captain Pat Cummins and his team had Canberra’s backing.
“I’m proud of our men’s and women’s cricket teams, who have both won their opening two Ashes matches against England,” he posted on Twitter.
“Australia is right behind Alyssa Healy (and) Pat Cummins and their teams and look forward to welcoming them home victorious.”
Anger in the crowd at the manner of Bairstow’s exit spilled over in the usually restrained Long Room at Lord’s, where Australian players Usman Khawaja and David Warner were involved in heated exchanges with jeering members – three of whom were later suspended by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
The row is expected to produce a lively atmosphere when the third Test of the men’s series gets under way at Headingley in Leeds on Thursday, as England look to halve the deficit against their rivals.
Veterans minister Johnny Mercer said England should not expect “fair play” from Australia as he urged the players on in the next contest.
Mr Mercer told Sky News: “It wasn’t actually cheating this time. Previously they did the whole sandpaper thing and when they got caught they were crying all over the media.
“I don’t think you’re going to get any particular fair play out of these.
“I think you’ve just got to give them a good pasting when you get the chance, and I hope that happens at the next Test match.”
Borthwick names unchanged starting England team for Australia clash
Steve Borthwick has named an unchanged starting team for England's match against Australia on Saturday with two changes on the bench.
England enter their second November Test looking to bounce back from their narrow 24-22 defeat to New Zealand last weekend.
Borthwick, however has elected to name the same group that started against the All Blacks, though Henry Slade will shift to inside centre, while Ollie Lawrence moves to outside centre.
Marcus Smith retains his place at fly-half while Jamie George continues to lead the side at hooker, but there is no place for Theo Dan or Ben Curry.
The pair are replaced by Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Sleightholme as England move from a six-two split between forwards and backs to a five-three combination.
Hooker Cowan-Dickie will make his first England appearance since November 2022 if he is introduced off the bench.
“Facing Australia is always a massive challenge, and we’ll work diligently this week to ensure we’re physically and tactically prepared to take on the Wallabies,” said Borthwick.
“The passion and energy from the crowd at Allianz Stadium last weekend was absolutely brilliant, from the opening whistle to the final moments, and we can't wait to be back at home this Saturday."
England squad in full:
George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer; Ellis Genge, Jamie George (captain), Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Ollie Sleightholme
Dottin among nominees for ICC Women’s Player of the Month for October
West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin has been named among the three nominees for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for the month of October.
Dottin made her comeback for the national side at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, and was a driving force as the islanders reached their first semi-final at the event since 2018.
She was instrumental in victories over Scotland and Bangladesh, but saved her most valuable contributions for the latter stages, where she shone with the bat, ball and in the field in their group stage win over England, before producing a memorable individual display with 33 runs and four wickets in the thrilling semi-final defeat to eventual champions New Zealand.
Dottin will be going up against New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt for the award.
The nominees for the Men’s award are New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner, Pakistan’s Noman Ali and South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada.
Kevin Sinclair replaced by Junior Sinclair in Harpy Eagles Super50 squad after internal report to GCB
All-rounder Kevin Sinclair will take no further part in the Guyana Harpy Eagles CG United Super50 Cup campaign in Trinidad and Tobago. The decision made by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) followed the submission of an internal report by the Harpy Eagles' management team that it was necessary to replace the player.
The GCB, in making the revelation, also announced that Kevin Sinclair will be replaced by Junior Sinclair in the squad at the tournament.
Though the GCB’s statement did not clarify if sub-standard performance is the reason behind Kevin Sinclair’s ejection from the squad, it pointed out that it was a “necessary squad adjustment.”
“Following an internal report from the Guyana Harpy Eagles management, it has been decided that Kevin Sinclair will no longer be participating in this year’s competition,” the statement read.
In the three matches played in the Super50 Cup, Kevin Sinclair tallied 14 runs and snared three wickets.
He made 14 from 16 balls against Windward Volcanoes and took 2-66 from 10 overs in the same match.
However, he did not bat in the rained-out contest against Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners and was dismissed without a score against Barbados Pride and only took 1-26 from 10 overs in that same match.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles are winless after three matches.
A similar situation arose last year during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament when organisers announced Kevin left the Guyana Amazon Warriors squad for “personal reasons.”
Kevin Sinclair’s departure opens the door for Junior Sinclair to take up a spot in the Harpy Eagles squad ahead of Tuesday’s contest against Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
Guyana Harpy Eagles Squad: Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Matthew Nandu, Tevin Imlach (captain), Kevlon Anderson, Kemol Savory, Junior Sinclair, Keemo Paul (vice-captain), Ronaldo Aimohamed, Veerasammy Permaul, Isai Thorne, Ashmead Nedd, Nial Smith, Sylus Tyndall, Rampertab Ramnauth.
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